


Forged In Fire

by Aridette



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Force Bond (Star Wars), Force Vampires, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sniper Armitage Hux, Spy Armitage Hux, Vampire Kylo Ren, wow the spy tag was new??
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-25
Updated: 2017-05-05
Packaged: 2018-10-23 23:39:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10729677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aridette/pseuds/Aridette
Summary: When the galaxy gets ready to enter another war, Hux sets out to do the only thing he believes will save Arkanis - destroy the First Order from the inside. But he is not alone. One fateful encounter leaves him with an unexpected and powerful ally.





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 19 years prior to the main story, one fateful encounter sets off events that will change Hux's entire life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I had to age up Ben a bit. In this scenario he is older than Hux. As the story progresses you'll see why. For now just bear with me.

Along with the ships descended a strange sort of calm and darkness that laid itself over the grounds.

To say that Armitage Hux had a bad feeling, was an understatement. At age 15, he was used to grey skies, endless rain and darkness. But this was new. This pressure, as though the darkness had taken a physical shape and was pressing in on them from all sides.

Nobody else seemed to notice. And who was he to bring it up? His father would call it juvenile nonsense.

He told himself that his father was right. Of course he was. It was a trick of the light or something to that effect. Perhaps their guests had found a way to achieve such a thing.

 

Officially, they were visiting Arkanis to negotiate a trade agreement, but Brendol Hux had confided in his son that he suspected them of striving for a military alliance. And that was why he needed his son to not meddle under any circumstances. Not that he would agree to join any sort of alliance.

Not now that Arkanis had finally recovered from the last war.

 

He had been told about General Organa and her role in the war before Arkanis managed to separate from the old Empire. It had been almost 20 years since they last met. And going by the look on the Arkanisian Emperor’s face, he did not care to see her for another 20 years at the very least. The sooner she left, the better.

 

Armitage watched as the guards guided their visitors past the hangars and towards the guest houses. They were not as many as other dignitaries brought along. Only a small entourage of five accompanied General Organa. Most of them men who towered over her by at least a head or two.

 

In his experience, women who could still emanate power under such circumstances were to be feared. They would know how to use their enemies underestimation to their advantage. His third and most recently passed away nanny stood evidence to that. She had been the only one able to put an end to his „silly spy games“, as she had liked to refer to them, simply by dragging him back by his ears.

Since her passing he had been able to roam the grounds more freely. To escape every now and then and re-appear whenever and wherever it suited him. And although he liked that newly-won freedom, Armitage missed the challenge.

 

With the guards on alert, perhaps now was his chance to really put his abilities to the test.

On soft soles he sneaked over to the door and listened intently until he heard the patrol outside pass by.

When they were out of earshot, he went back to the window. None of the guards outside were paying the building behind them any attention. Deft hands opened the window quietly.

Seconds later the escape was complete. But getting out had always been the easier part. A pebble, small enough to go unnoticed, stuck in the right place would keep the window seemingly closed, but easy enough to open from the outside. He took a few careful steps along the ledge, then grabbed for the opening of a ventilation shaft above him.

 

Whoever had planned and built the mansion, that had lovingly been dubbed „the castle“ although it bore no semblance, must have had him in mind. His slim fingers and small frame fit perfectly into the crevices along the facade and made his ascend a fast affair.

 

He still had to be careful not to be noticed on the roof, but once up there he could make his way anywhere in relative safety. All things considered, he was still small enough to blend in with the shadows. At least so long as he remembered to hide his bright hair under his hood. Given the weather on Arkanis, his choice of wearing hoods had never been questioned. And although they protected him from the rain, it was more important to him that they protected him from unwanted attention. Attention he would inevitably draw otherwise.

 

The sky was dark but no rain fell as he hid behind a chimney. From his vantage point he could see the entire estate without being seen himself.

Everything laid quiet below. The sounds that were carried up to him were dulled by the wind that had picked up upon their guests’ arrival.

He made ready to jump the short distance to the kitchen building when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. Movement that should not have be there.

A dark, cloaked figure sneaked out of the guest house and towards the nearby forest.

None of their own guards wore dark cloaks. And neither had they noticed the quiet escape.

 

Sure, Armitage could have alerted them to the fact, cause the perimeters to be sealed off, a search to be started. But that would raise questions he did not want to answer. Besides, he was a spy. He could find out what was going on better than any of their loud and clumsy guards.

He checked the position of the different patrols once more and made the jump. It was easier to descend to ground level unseen between the two buildings and to steal away into the forest. The dense foliage would lend him enough cover to be able to catch up with the cloaked figure without having to worry about being seen.

 

His slim body easily navigated between the bushes, careful not to break any branches and give away his position. The wind rustling the leaves was perfect to hide his movements.

 

Soon he had reached the spot where the cloaked figure had entered the woods.

Whoever it was had paid little attention to the traces they left. Armitage swiftly climbed a tree with branches low enough for him to perch on. The additional height allowed him to see the trail of broken twigs and stomped down vegetation. It would be easy to follow the path if not for the sudden darkness settling around him. Nevertheless he went on through the trees and underbrush until these too started to hinder him, as though to keep him from following.

If a much taller person could make their way through, so could he. And quietly.

 

For a moment he halted and listened.

At first the sounds of the forest were almost deafening. Until he started to be able to discern the different layers of sound.

Panicked birds, leaves rustling frantically and between all that… a dark electric humming accompanied by a sort of growl the likes of which Armitage had never heard before.

Then a scream, long and piercing. Followed by something huge mowing its way through the forest towards him. Darkness was all around him in a matter of moments. It felt as though an invisible dark force was pushing all the air out of his slim body.

Every fibre in him urged him to run, to get away as fast as possible. But he could not. Not only physically. Someone had screamed and that scream had obviously been human. He had to get to whoever it had been and help. It was the least he could do. There was no other soul around that could. And if anyone of General Organa’s entourage had attacked one of their own people, surely his father would like to know THAT - consequences be damned.

 

As soon as the darkness dispersed, he ran. Even before he noticed he could move again he pushed onwards through the dense underbrush until it broke to give way to a small clearing.

Armitage stopped dead in his tracks.

Before him laid the black-clad figure he had seen slip away from the guest house.

Or at least what was left of him. He looked as though he had been mauled. The man in the windswept grass before him could be no more than ten years his senior, less perhaps, Armitage thought as he slowly approached the man.

It was hard to tell with blood oozing from the several wounds to his body. His curly dark hair clung to a nasty wound to his neck. He breathed frantically but low, staring at Armitage in apparent shock. Then his head dropped back against the ground.

 

„Shh, it’s alright. You’ll be alright,“ Armitage whispered, despite knowing better.

Things did not look good. In fact they looked anything but good.

Nevertheless, he kneeled beside the man who took a deeper breath now in an attempt to keep calm.

 

„No,“ the other man said. Panic was written all over his face, where it mixed with what must have been excruciating pain. Briefly, Armitage wondered how the man was not unconscious yet. „Leave-,“ a weakened arm tried to push him away. „Leave me alone.“

 

„I won’t leave you to die out here,“ Armitage retorted stubbornly.

 

„You don’t understand.“ The man’s breathing was getting heavier by the second. All the while the remaining colour drained from his features. „There is nothing you can do.“

 

Armitage fought the urge to roll his eyes. Even in a situation like this, he would not accept being deemed helpless.

„There is always something I can do,“ he said instead. He dug out the pocket knife he kept hidden in his boots, then pulled off his own coat and started tearing it in broad strips.

„Don’t move.“ Useless to say, but it got a weak huff out of the other man before he started to cough and turned his face away.

Armitage gathered as much moss as he could grab and folded it into one of the strips. He promptly pushed that package against the gaping wound to the man’s side and with some pushing and prodding fastened it with a strip of the inner lining. He barely had enough cloth at hand. But he would do anything he could to stop the worst of the bleeding before he went to get help.

Except for pained gasps and hisses, the man remained quiet throughout the process.

 

„What is that?“ Armitage prompted, meaning the strange object the man still clutched.

Instead of giving an answer, the man’s grip on said object only tightened.

 

„Alright. Then don’t tell me. But I’m going to need you to try and relax a little bit. I don’t want to hurt you any further.“

The man grimaced, but allowed Armitage to move him as needed.

Lastly, he bandaged the wound to the man’s neck as best he could. It was a small line to walk between putting on enough pressure and strangling the man.

When he was done, he sat back on his heels.

 

The young man before him was pale, paler than he should be anyway, but his breathing had evened out. Although he was not sure if that was a good thing. Transfixed, the dark haired stranger stared at Armitage, who held the gaze.

 

He tried for a smile. „I should go and get help now.“

 

The other man blinked slowly, unable to look away and seemingly incapable of understanding what was being said anymore.

 

He might have resigned to his fate, but Armitage had not.

„I’ll be back. Promise. Just hold tight until then.“

With all the speed his young body could compose, he hurried back. The way seemed much longer now. When he staggered out of the woods he did not even try to seem inconspicuous.  
  


* * *

 

There was no way for him to tell how long it had taken them to get back. With the setting sun it was a small wonder that he had found the way at all.

Or at least he was sure he had.

But when he arrived back in the clearing, there was no sign of the other.

The only proof that anything had transpired here at all were the patches of bare soil where he had pulled out moss to absorb the blood.

Man and moss however, were gone.

 

In the end, the incident and his involvement in it had been hushed up.

The memory, along with so many others, soon faded.

But he would never forget General Organa’s fury when she stormed across the grounds and accused his father of keeping her son hostage. Regardless of what anyone said, Armitage knew his father would never stoop so low as to abduct anyone for leverage. Years later that was the only thing he remembered of General Organa’s visit.

 

Whatever had happened that day in the woods - the memory was a quickly fading blur of events. Completely erased from his mind somewhere along line.

And just like that very peculiar memory, Ben Organa was lost to the sands of time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading so far!  
> I was super reluctant to post anything regarding this story before having written the whole thing. But without anyone to talk to about this, writing got so terribly lonely.  
> Therefore (and because I finally managed to print the [incredible art commission](http://schaloime.tumblr.com/post/151573457771/commission-for-the-lady-aridette-its-for-an) done by Schaloime for this story) I decided to release the prologue into the wild.
> 
>  
> 
> The next chapter is 99.9 % done as well. If anyone was interested, I am still looking for a beta reader/someone to kick my ass to write faster!  
> Which means, if you find any mistakes those are entirely my own fault. Blame my non-native speaker brain.
> 
>  
> 
> So there's that. If you feel inclined you can come yell at me on [tumblr](http://aridette.tumblr.com/) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/IsaJT).


	2. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huuuuuuuge Thank You to Morcuen for beta reading this chapter!  
> And also to everyone who commented on the prologue and motivated me! I was blown away by your responses.
> 
> Starting this chapter, every chapter will be split into a "now" and "before" timeline!

_**Now** _

Hux is too weak to move. He feels dizzy, drained, disoriented.  
Only the metal walls around him let him guess he is inside a shuttle.  
Their shuttle?  
He is cold. So cold.  
„Kylo?“ Hux groans.  
He calls out again. Nothing.

A spike of betrayal flares up, one that Hux is not prepared for. If anything, it adds to his dizziness. Of course, this is what their deal entails, essentially. He knows this. And yet he cannot help feeling used by the one who was supposed to be his partner. His confidant.  
His heart is racing uncontrollably, his breath seemingly trying to catch up. Even as shallow as it is.  
The rational part of him knows he is only barely alive. He clings to the trace of their bond he still feels thrumming through his veins.  
To leave him like this… what is Kylo thinking?

Hux knows he should go after him. They both walked into this trap together and Ren going and facing that danger while Hux was doing nothing to help, was not an option.  
Not one he would ever willingly agree to.  
Not one he would let Ren make for him.

He tries to push himself up from where he lays, only to be assaulted by a hot rush of nausea that keeps him rooted to the spot.  
Maybe, if he rests a little more, just maybe-

* * *

 

_**Before** _

The rain came as no surprise.  
It never did. Not to anyone who had grown up and spent their entire lives on Arkanis. A slight drizzle accompanied most days on that godforsaken planet. The dreary picture it painted fit the vast empty fields and monotonous mountain ranges that looked the same in every direction. 

As a child, Hux had dreamt of soft rays of sunshine and how they would break through the clouds to turn the world golden.  
Over the years those dreams had faded. He had learned to accept reality, or what he told himself to be real. And reality was grey and bleak. It tended to be wet, as well.

He was drenched. There was only so much even a waterproof coat could take. Especially when gusts of wind created waves of rain that sneaked their way into every fold and through every seam.  
Life on Arkanis had taught him not to care about the rain. Even so, the way his uniform clung to him uncomfortably was a nuisance he could do without.  
Lightning stuck a nearby tree.  
Undeterred, Hux rode on, pulling closer to the last known coordinates.

Central Command had lost contact to his spies two days prior, mere hours after they had reported suspicious movements in the mountains. The very same mountain range laid before him now.  
He knew the mountains reached as far as human eyes could see and farther. But with the storm steadily growing in strength, the rocky hillsides up ahead blended into the perfect grey monotony only a true Arkanisian downpour could create.

Hux huffed to himself quietly and gripped the speeder bike’s handlebars a little tighter. He should not be out in this weather. His father had protested, for years. He deemed it unfit for a Prince to serve under these conditions.

Brendol Hux himself had been a military man and fought a number of wars before he had become Emperor. Arkanis had only known peace under his rule. But Rebels were on the rise across the galaxy. In the recent years they had taken an interest in Arkanis, given its military history and standing army.  
All that stood between Arkanis and another intergalactic war was the intel Hux and his network of spies could acquire. But only few men passed Hux’s criteria and so their resources were limited. He could not risk losing any of them. And he would not. Even if it meant riding a speeder bike through a thunderstorm because he was the only man available and skilled enough for such a mission. Although skilled in this case might as well have meant reckless.

If there were Rebels out here, knowing about their plans even a few days earlier could save the nearest settlements. Hux had been too late too many times, seen too many people suffer because they had blindly believed that Rebel scum, their talk of democracy and freedom. A few years ago they had lost vast majorities of the South. Until the messages began to trickle in. Messages of battles, of lost sons and daughters. Yet the only help that ever reached the villages was what the crown sent them. Soon enough, they turned their backs on the Rebel Alliances.  
The same could not be said about the Rebels however.  
They returned, time and time again.

Hux had made it his duty to protect and defend all those their enemies would target first. Out in the rain; this was where he was meant to be. Not behind a desk, like the Emperor might have preferred.  
The thunder was getting louder, the wind picked up. In the distance he saw trees bend dangerously, branches breaking off and being carried away. He slowed down his speeder bike and crossed the last river between himself and the mountains. Hux knew that soon the stream would double in size and make it almost impossible for him to get to the other side before the storm had passed. Though, with any luck, he would discover his men’s last camp nearby and be able to take shelter there.

He checked his com unit. The signal was weak out there, but lasted long enough for him to check in with Central Command before he entered the thick forest ahead.  
From this point on Hux could only rely on himself. He slowed down the speeder and hid it in the underbrush. Sure, he could make a faster escape on it, but he had no intention of being discovered first. With practiced ease he strapped his weapons to his thighs and back.

Without a second man as backup he had to carry a blaster himself - something he never much appreciated. Whenever necessary, he relied on his rifle instead. He knew how to handle himself in close combat, but preferred his enemies dead before they could get close enough for an assault.

The terrain did not work in his favour. It hardly ever did when the summer storms began to cause downpour after downpour. Any tracks there might have been would surely have been destroyed. If not in the past two days, then certainly in the past two hours.  
Staying close to the trees, Hux began his trek in the general direction of where he suspected the spies had gone. There were a number of smaller clearings nearby. They were difficult to see from above, but should the Rebels learn of their existence, they would make for good landing spots. Hux’s men had only found them while scouting the area themselves, during field training.

The cloud-cover became ever denser. The grey skies above him were almost black now, allowing almost no light to reach the ground. And what little did, had to pass through sheer endless layers of foliage first. If it got any worse, Hux might have to rely on night vision goggles, although they would slow him down even further. He was already making slow progress, what with the on-going storm and rain making him strain to listen for any sounds that would give away enemy movement.  
By the time he approached the third and last clearing he could hardly see more than a couple of meters ahead, despite the trees shielding him from most of the rain. Everything beyond that appeared as vague shapes at best. It was pointless to continue. The goggles would help with the darkness, but could do nothing against the rain. Even the birds that might usually have given away his position were quiet as though nighttime had settled over them.

For a second, a gust of wind carried the rain sideways. Hux squinted. Was there something out in that clearing? He hadn’t been able to see long enough to be sure. But he could have sworn there was a dark silhouette in the distance, near where the forest grew dense on the other side.

He looked around, listened intently; in vain.  
He should not risk running across the clearing, but if he took the long way along the tree line, whoever was on the other side might get away.  
Through the rain he could not even tell if he heard the sound of engines or his mind was playing tricks on him. At this point it could be either.

„If I can’t see them, they can’t see me.“ he told himself.  
It was folly and he knew it. If there was a ship and their engines were running, their scanners would most likely have alerted them to his presence already. But then, what could one man do to stop them anyway.  
And that was where his advantage laid. Subconsciously, Hux felt for his utility belt.  
Oh, he had ways of keeping a vessel planetside if he needed to.

Without wasting any more time, Hux readied the blaster he had brought and made his way over to where he thought he had seen something. There was no advantage to be gained from his surroundings in a clearing. He closed in fast. Quick, calculated steps brought him closer despite the mud that stuck to his boots.

A little ahead of him a black silhouette became more prominent - a shuttle of some sort, a small freighter perhaps. Hux wasn’t sure. Due to his line of work it was only natural he had amassed a vast knowledge about different types of spaceships, but this silhouette looked like nothing he had seen before.

As he got closer, it became apparent that she was severely damaged. One of her wings had dents that looked like the material should have given way to whatever blast had struck it, but sternly refused to - physics be damned.  
A couple more steps and he found that there were several breaches in her hull.  
One glance towards the halfway lowered ramp showed what he had expected.  
His spies had put a jammer where the hull had given way to the underlying circuits. Even if her engines were still intact enough to get her off the ground, she could go nowhere.

The ship laid silent amidst the rain and the muddy green. No crew had made itself known. And at least from out here, Hux could find no damage that could have been caused by standard issued blasters. With no signs of a fight here, the spies must have moved on.

He put the blaster back into the holster and climbed inside. Maybe taking a look inside would give him a new lead. In the very least, it would serve him as shelter until the worst of the storm had blown over.  
As if to warn him, lightning brightened up the dark sky above like a mini-supernova. A dark rumble shuddered through the air almost immediately. It reverberated in the mountain range nearby, going on long enough for the next lightning bolt to crack in the charged air.

It was dark inside. Even more so since he had reflexively turned towards the bright light outside.  
By the looks of it, the ship had completely powered down. And yet, Hux got a sense of where he was and in which direction to move even before he switched on his torch. It was almost as if some sort of energy was trying to guide him, pull him deeper inside.  
Had Hux been a superstitious man, he might have gone with what his guts were telling him, turned around and left despite the weather.  
Instead he went with his original plan.

A quick walk through the ship’s limited hold revealed he was alone. There was not a trace of anyone having been here recently. Either they had taken everything with them, or there had never been much to begin with.  
It was possible. She was so heavily damaged, it was a miracle she had not shown up on their radar as she had approached.  
Had the Arkanisian Navy shot her out of the skies, there would have been reports. This was not their doing.  
This ship, apparently held together by sheer force of will, had managed to sneak through their defenses and crashed on the planet, entirely unnoticed.

Still shrouded in complete darkness except for what little light his torch provided, Hux found the cockpit. There was a single seat.  
Most ships this size required at least a co-pilot. Apparently not this one.  
For a moment he was almost sure someone would be sitting in that spot. The air in the cockpit felt oddly dense, as though something had been using up all the air. With every step towards the consoles he felt something trying to push him away.  
He huffed. Something must have been seriously off with the ship’s systems before it had crashed. That was the only rational explanation. If he managed to get even one of the consoles working, he might be able to figure it out.

The entirely unfamiliar build of the vessel posed a different problem altogether.  
After a while and several attempts at guessing which switch would do what, he managed to secure emergency lighting along the floor and wall panels. It was dim, but better than his torchlight. In any case, it allowed him to once again have both hands free.

Several times he felt like someone was looking over his shoulder while he tried to make sense of what he saw before him. Every time, he turned around to find nothing. The rain still sounded like a drumroll as it steadily thudded against the hull. If anyone approached him now, chances were he would not hear them in time. And so, whenever he felt that curious presence, he turned around, blaster at the ready. With every passing minute, the feeling grew worse. A bit as though the walls were pressing in on him. To make matters worse, the lights flickered dangerously whenever he thought he was getting closer to powering up even one console.  
The whole thing was eerie to say the least.  
Luckily, eerie had never done much to stop Hux.

And so he continued working on the strange vessel’s systems. It was the least he could do, even if the vessel itself refused to cooperate.  
He could not continue the search in this weather. And not at all without any further hints as to where his men might have headed from here. The ship’s systems and sensors were his best bet.  
But even as he thought that, sparks flew from the still far from operational console, hitting him across the face and only barely missing his eyes.  
„Alright, Alright,“ Hux muttered. Piece of crap, he thought to himself. As though the ship could possibly understand his words.  
Another console erupted in sparks. One he had not even touched yet. Seconds later, the emergency lights flickered off.  
Standing in total darkness once more, Hux gave an exasperated sigh.  
„Fine. You win.“  
He huffed. Good thing nobody would ever hear about this.  
„Turn the lights back on? Please?“  
Clearly he was going insane if he thought talking to this pile of high tech scrap metal would do him any good. But lo and behold, the lights flickered back on.  
Groaning at the absurdity of the situation, Hux slumped down in the single pilot’s seat.  
The presence he had felt earlier was still there. Although he was alone as far as he could tell, he still wondered if he would feel anything if he just reached out.  
„You know?“ he said instead, „You could really just make it easier for me by letting me find my people. I’d be gone as soon as the rain stops…“  
Well, not stops, but becomes more bearable. As soon as he could see more than five meters ahead, he would be out of here. By then he would rather have a rough idea of where he was heading, though.

A console beeped to life in front of him. Hux tried to enter a frequency to search, but the electric tingling he felt upon touching the cool surface stopped him. A moment later two dots began blinking to the northwest. Further into the mountains, then. „How-?“ Try as he might to tell all this off as a fluke, just the ship’s systems acting up, there was no way it could know the frequency his spies used for communications.

„Can you hail them?“ Hux tried.  
Perhaps the ship reacted to verbal commands only. It would explain the single pilot seat, if nothing else. A ship as efficient as this, given the right commands and easily accessible sub-commands, could be piloted by just one person. An idea started to form in his head. An idea he had to keep in mind for later.  
„I said, can you ha-“  
Instead of doing that, the console powered down again.  
„Oh, you’ve got to be kidding!“ Hux threw his hands up in exasperation, but quickly regained his composure before the lights went off again, or whatever else this ship had in store for him.  
„Nevermind. I’ll find them, thanks.“ he said.

When the rain finally let up, Hux was on his way. Knowing there might be Rebels waiting for him when he found his men, he proceeded carefully, weapon out and at the ready.

The hike uphill was made doubly difficult by the ground still being more than slippery. Careful not to take the fast way back down into the valley, Hux kept going. What had looked to be two klicks at most on the map ended up feeling more like five before he reached a dead-end.

His own com-unit had begun to pick up the signals as well. They had to be nearby. But the only way, he realized as a single ray of sunshine emerged to briefly make the wet rocks glisten and shine all around him, was up.

Determined to find his men, Hux began his climb. The rock face was jagged and slippery. Not ideal, but not the worst he had had to face so far. Within minutes he pulled himself up unto a ledge, then another. The third he reached was wide enough to stand comfortably. A narrow path led away from the cliff. Hux readied his blaster once more and followed the path deeper into the mountains. It lead to a cave, the opening merely large enough to allow a man to fit inside.

Hux checked his com-unit.  
He was so close. His men had to be inside, taking shelter from the storm perhaps. Or taken hostage by Rebels. In all his years he had never once found a hideout as well-hidden as this cave. But it was possible they had begun to change their tactics. Jetpacks could easily take them up here. Especially without anyone around to notice.  
Whatever Hux would find inside the cave, he was ready.

He gave his eyes a moment to adjust to the darkness before he moved further inside.  
The cave was colder even than the wet mountain air after the storm. A slight draft coming from deep within the passage made him shiver involuntarily. With a swift swipe the blaster’s torchlight came on.

Hux scanned his surroundings.  
While the entrance was narrow, the cave opened wide in front of him. Even his torch was unable to illuminate the ceiling.  
Water ran down the walls in thin rivulets. The constant dripping all around him and the draft that made the mountain groan eerily had even Hux struggle not to become lost the minute he pushed forward into the cave.  
Despite water covering the walls and forming small pools on the ground, he discovered no hint of moss anywhere. Were this a hideout, surely the warmth from a fire or radiator would have caused immediate growth. Hux could not help but wonder what his men were doing in here. Would they have moved further inside had they been hiding from the elements?

The unwelcome feeling of someone watching his every step kept him moving. It was not unlike what he had experienced in the shuttle earlier and helped nothing to keep the sense of dread at bay that quickly became the most prominent thought on Hux’s mind. The only difference being that he naturally found a cave far less inviting than any ship could ever be. The intensity of the sensation made Hux’s hair stand on ends. Whatever this… energy was, it was much stronger than before, wilder, almost out of control.  
He cast his light ahead. It would not do to get sidetracked and be careless now. There was something there, he was sure. But Hux could not tell what it was. Not quite yet. With every step the walls seemed to press in on him more. But his determination never faltered.

He stepped around a large formation of stalagmites - and froze.  
Before him, the ground was littered with bones. Bones and skulls, carcasses in different states of decay, some of them definitely no wildlife. And amidst the pile, two weakly blinking com-units.

„No,“ Hux whispered before he could stop himself. The gasp echoed in the quiet of the cave.  
A sudden rush of hundreds of pairs of wings had Hux ducking reflexively.  
Bats. He should have expected bats.  
But instead of heading for the exit, they circled Hux, seemingly pushing him on deeper inside, towards the cold draft and into the groaning mountain. Even Hux, collected as he was under almost all circumstances found himself tempted to scream in terror. He could not explain why. All of a sudden he had to actively fight his most basic instinct to flee. The pressure around him was quickly becoming unbearable. But worse was the pressure he felt building inside himself.

In a last ditch effort to stop the attack and break free from whatever was happening, he reached for his utility belt. There was a good chance he would ruin his own equipment, but if it got rid of the bats… he placed the EMP grenade on the ground besides him and pulled the pin.

While the technology itself was old, it was still useful and took up almost no space.  
Hux was never more thankful for the wars his ancestors had fought than in the moment the grenade set off an impulse strong enough to send the bats rushing out of the cave in distress.

„Clever.“  
The voice was booming amidst the cave’s natural sounds. Dark and rumbling as it was, it fit right into the mix.  
„But not clever enough. Your tricks won’t save you from me.“

„Who are you?“ Hux demanded with more bravado than he currently possessed. „Show yourself!“

A gust of wind had him take a step back. He pointed his blaster ahead.

„Foolish,“ the dark voice echoed to Hux’s left. But when he turned around only the empty cave greeted him.  
„So foolish.“ This time the voice came from somewhere to his right.  
Again, nothing.

Hux huffed.  
„This is ridiculous. If you’re looking for a fight, show yourself! Only a coward would hide himself in the shadows!“

Another gust of wind and Hux felt a presence behind him. He tried to turn around, face his opponent, but found he could not move.  
„A coward you say? A coward?“

Hux groaned in his effort to move. The more he tried, the more taut his muscles were pulled into a position that left him unable to even bend a finger.

„Or a tactician.“ the voice kept teasing him.  
Hux felt his lip twitch.  
„I see,“ the voice rasped behind him. 

„You see what?“ With an actual opponent to focus on, Hux found it easy to regain his composure.

„You don’t like losing. You don’t like being wrong.“  
Whatever had been holding Hux, let him slip free. Hux almost stumbled. Almost.  
„But you are missing one tiny detail.“

„And what would that be?“  
Hux finally turned around. A dark shadow was looming over him, stood right in front of him, and seemingly drained all of Hux’s remaining body warmth from him.

„You lost the moment you entered the forest.“

„I don’t think so,“ Hux growled and fired.

His blaster was flying through the air and out of reach before he even registered what happened.  
The figure before him howled in pain. Or perhaps surprise. For a moment, the darkness inside the cave grew even denser. Then a hand held Hux up by the throat.  
A hand. No claw. No robotic arm. The hood the figure was wearing might have made it almost impossible to see his face. But whoever it was, looked appallingly human from what Hux could glimpse of his features in the brief moment before he struggled to remain conscious and breathing.

„Your weapons can’t hurt me.“  
He threw Hux across the cave as though he weighed nothing. Barely a moment later, he was on top of Hux, looking down at his prey

„Then why not just kill me?“

„Where would be the fun in that? Weren’t you asking for a proper fight just now?“

„It would hardly be a fair fight if my weapons can’t hurt you.“

„No weapons then.“

The words had hardly left his lips that Hux deployed a move that relied more on his dexterity than actual strength and had his opponent pinned under him. His punch aimed at where he supposed the other’s temple was. One hit, two. Instead of passing out the hooded figure pushed Hux off once more.  
Both swayed on their feet. Hux still dizzy from being strangled, the other from taking a few hits to the head.  
But the moment lasted only a couple of seconds in which they eyed each other suspiciously.  
Then the dark figure pounced on Hux.  
Even as he dodged blow after blow, Hux silently wished he had spent even more hours training for close combat. While his reflexes and muscle memory served him well enough with most opponents, he felt himself tire way too fast compared to this guy.  
More than once he found himself inching backwards as though guided there. It was almost like the only point of their altercation was to tire Hux out.  
He rapidly lost ground. And once his back hit a wall it would be over.  
If the hooded figure decided he was done playing with him anyway. Hux highly doubted that was all he had in mind for him.

They were almost back by the mouth of the cave before Hux found an opening in the other’s defense and landed another punch.  
He went straight for the throat, but even that did not deter the man for long.  
Hux saw his opportunity then and rushed to make a quick escape. The man was still on his heels.  
Hux slipped outside, momentarily startled by how bright the pale grey sky was now. He felt a hand grabbing his arm and tried to free himself.  
But before he could do much more than struggle, his pursuer screamed in pain and let go. 

Hux whirled around.  
What had happened?

Just inside the cave, still wrapped in shadows, the figure stood, snarling at him furiously like some wild beat, when Hux knew he was human. Something seemed to keep him trapped inside.

Hux could almost feel the fury bristling in the air around him. Or maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him after escaping the confines of the dark cave.  
He could not care less what it was. 

He ran down the path he had come.  
The only thought on his mind now was that he had to find the slope he had noticed earlier; when he had still thought he could save his men.


End file.
